The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced the 2025 loan limits for FHA insured forward mortgage loans and FHA insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs). The announcements were made...more
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced the conforming loan limits for residential mortgage loans acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2025. Fannie Mae addresses the limits in Lender Letter...more
Following lengthy litigation, the CFPB is attempting to close the books on its case against Townstone Financial alleging discriminatory lending practices and redlining African American neighborhoods in Chicago....more
11/7/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Redlining ,
Settlement
This summer, the CFPB issued its long-awaited proposed rule amending the mortgage servicing rules under Regulation X, with a focus on loss mitigation procedures, foreclosure protections, and language access. These changes...more
The CFPB, Fed, and OCC have announced that they are increasing exemption thresholds that are subject to annual inflation adjustments. Effective January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2025, these exemption thresholds are...more
10/18/2024
/ Appraisal ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Exemptions ,
Federal Reserve ,
Financial Institutions ,
Inflation Adjustments ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
OCC ,
Regulation M ,
Regulation Z ,
Threshold Requirements
The Justice Department announced that Citadel Federal Credit Union has agreed to pay more than $6.5 million to resolve allegations that it engaged in a pattern or practice of redlining majority-Black and Hispanic...more
10/14/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
Race Discrimination ,
Redlining ,
Statutory Violations
Saying that reverse redlining is a form of discrimination, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas has refused to dismiss a discrimination case alleging that Texas developer Colony Ridge specifically...more
10/8/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Discriminatory Lending Practices ,
ECOA ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Redlining ,
Regulation B ,
Reverse Discrimination
The CFPB recently announced that the Filing Instruction Guide (FIG) for the submission of Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data collected in 2025 is now available. The FIG, issued by the Federal Financial Institutions...more
In Circular 26-24-19, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) sets forth documentation requirements for fees and charges that may be imposed on veterans in connection with VA-guaranteed home loans, other than the VA funding...more
As interest rates drop, the CFPB is exploring ways to streamline mortgage rules to make the refinancing process easier and closing costs less expensive, Director Rohit Chopra said at a housing conference sponsored by the...more
9/25/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Homeowner's Insurance ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Refinancing
In a surprising quick turn of events, on remand from SCOTUS, the 9th Circuit, on August 23, 2024, issued its unanimous unpublished panel opinion in Kivett v. Flagstar Bank, FSB (Kivett II) in which it essentially re-affirmed...more
8/28/2024
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Bank of America ,
Cantero v Bank of America NA ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Escrow Accounts ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Flagstar Bank NA v Kivett ,
Mortgages ,
National Bank Act ,
OCC ,
Preemption ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS
In connection with its guaranteed home loan program, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced in Circular 26-24-17 [Link: https://benefits.va.gov/HOMELOANS/documents/circulars/26-24-17.pdf] requirements when a party...more
As previously reported, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in connection with single-family residential mortgage loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), and Fannie Mae and Freddie...more
8/8/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
HECM ,
HUD ,
Loans ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgagee Letters ,
Mortgages
Previously, in connection with the home loan program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) we reported on the VA’s adoption of a temporary local variance allowing veterans to pay the commission of the real estate broker...more
8/6/2024
/ Broker Commissions ,
Brokers ,
Buyers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) ,
Variances ,
Veterans ,
Veterans Administration
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently charged multiple entities with housing discrimination based on an asserted biased appraisal and denial of a mortgage refinance loan application based on the...more
The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) recently announced the release of the Snapshot National Loan-Level Dataset based on Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) data from 2023. The CFPB also addressed...more
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently finalized in Mortgage Letter 2024-14, dated July 10, 2024, a revision to its Defect Taxonomy to clarify that fraud or material misrepresentation involving a sponsored...more
The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) recently finalized enhancements to its 203(k) rehabilitation mortgage loan program in Mortgagee Letter 2024-13. This action follows the FHA proposing enhancements to the program last...more
Federal banking regulators recently began adopting a final rule that requires, among other things, supervised mortgage originators and secondary market issuers to ensure that automated valuation models they use follow quality...more
On June 17, 2024, FHA announced in draft Mortgage Letter 2024-12 a proposed revision to its Defect Taxonomy to clarify that fraud or material misrepresentation involving a sponsored Third-Party Originator (TPO) is a Tier 1...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), recently issued a Request for Information (RFI) related to fees charged by providers of mortgages and related settlement services. In his statement, Director Chopra discussed...more
6/19/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Closing Costs ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgages ,
Request For Information ,
TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule (TRID) ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
Buyer-Broker Commissions -
In connection with its guaranteed home loan program, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) recently adopted a temporary local variance allowing veterans to pay the commission of the real estate...more
6/14/2024
/ Borrowers ,
Broker Commissions ,
Brokers ,
Buyers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Lenders ,
Loans ,
Mortgages ,
Real Estate Commissions ,
Veterans
In Mortgagee Letter 2024-10, FHA announced a requirement for FHA approved lenders to notify the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) of Significant Cybersecurity Incidents. The Mortgagee Letter, which is...more
5/28/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Cybersecurity ,
Fair Housing Act (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HUD ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgagee Letters ,
Mortgages ,
NIST ,
Personally Identifiable Information ,
Reporting Requirements
As part of the CFPB’s crusade against junk fees, CFPB Director, Rohit Chopra addressed credit report fees in prepared remarks at the Mortgage Bankers Association’s Secondary & Capital Markets Conference & Expo 2024. While...more
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), recently issued Mortgagee Letter 2024-07 addressing reconsideration of value (ROV) policies in connection with...more
5/10/2024
/ Appraisal ,
Bias ,
Borrowers ,
Fannie Mae ,
Federal Housing Administration (FHA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Freddie Mac ,
HUD ,
Mortgagee Letters ,
Mortgages ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)